March 13, 2026. Among God’s Ten Commandments, the fourth states: “Honor thy father and mother.” This represents the spiritual beauty inherent in those who truly love God. If you claim...

 Dear Jesus,

The world is changing rapidly. People of my generation have become like relics of the past, members of an older, bygone era. The younger generation growing up today no longer shares the same thoughts, sayings, or behaviors as we do.

I have heard countless sorrowful stories from relatives and friends.

Years ago, when my father reached the age of seventy, he  often said:

"In old age, only husband and wife look after each other."

Just how true, and how deeply sorrowful those words were.

When we were young, parents worked tirelessly to earn money, to educate their children, and help them become good people. They raised and nurtured us in the hope that in their old age, they might find shelter and rest in the cool shade of the young saplings they had once tended. Now, those young saplings have grown up into big trees with lush, spreading branches; yet, do those aging parents now truly rest beneath the shade of the very trees they nurtured so long ago?

Elderly couples who possess a home, social security income, and still have each other, are surely the fortunate ones in the twilight years of their lives.

Then, inevitably, one of them passes away first, leaving the survivor utterly alone and adrift in this world. If the survivor remains healthy enough to care for himself or herself, rarely will he or she move in with their children. Out of a sense of pride or dignity, they do not confide in anyone about the true reasons why they choose not to live with their children.

But then comes a day when they are utterly exhausted, and find themselves with no other option but to move in with their children, or end up in a nursing home.

And there are those impoverished parents who have no one to rely on but their own children. How pitiful they are!

These aging parents become helpless, like old trees slowly withering away. They feel like useless burdens.

Yet, those children seem to have completely forgotten their own childhoods, forgotten the years of sacrifice of their parents. 

Gestures devoid of affection or sensitivity, along with the thoughtless, callous words spoken by their children, inflict deep sorrow upon these aging parents. Realizing they were powerless to change anything, they remained silent, quietly living out their final days and wishing only to depart this world soon.

Today, were our children and grandchildren to read stories such as *The Twenty-Four Paragons of Filial Piety* of the old times, they would surely laugh, dismissing them as mere fabrication, tales that simply do not exist in this earthly realm.

My dear child,

Such is the nature of life in your world today. People  chase after material wealth, forgetting God .

Among God’s Ten Commandments, the fourth states:

“Honor thy father and mother.”

This represents the spiritual beauty inherent in those who truly love God. If you claim to love God, He whom you cannot see, yet fail to show filial piety toward your parents, those whom you *can* see, then you are a liar.

As for parents in their twilight years, this serves as a lesson of forgiveness toward their children, the final lesson parents must learn to complete their earthly journey.

Not all children treat their parents unjustly. 

Parents too, must engage in self-reflection. Cherish every moment your children are still living under your roof; thank them for the things they do for you, such as to care for you in your old age, to the most trivial gestures, such as pouring you a glass of water. Never harbor the mindset that you are a superior entitled to be served. When your children err, gently correct them; never allow resentment to remain in your heart. Parents must also learn to be yielding toward their children; never use your parental authority to dominate them.

Times have changed, you are living in the 21st century, not in the early 20th, when parents demanded and received absolute obedience from their offspring. Once you truly grasp this truth, your lives will become far more peaceful and happy.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Let me know You, and let me know myself. Know You to listen to Your Word, and put it into practice in my daily life. Know me to change my path to Your righteous one, to have Heaven in my heart, and You are always with me.

May my meditation bring many more readers,  who are not yet believers, into your Forever Family.

Please bless all those who read this meditation in my Blog.

AMEN.